Gaspard II de Coligny

Gaspard II de Coligny (16 February 1519-24 August 1572) was a French nobleman and admiral who was best known as a Huguenot leader during the French Wars of Religion. Coligny was murdered by a Catholic mob during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572.

Biography
Gaspard II de Coligny was born in Chatillon-sur-Long, France on 16 February 1519 to a family of nobles from Burgundy. His father, Gaspard I de Coligny, served in the Italian Wars and became a Marshal of France in 1516. He became friends with Francis, Duke of Guise after arriving at the French court at the age of 22, and he served in the Italian Wars during the 1540s. In 1552, he became an Admiral of France, and he defended Saint-Quentin in 1557, being captured during the siege. Around 1558, he became a Huguenot Protestant, as he received a letter from John Calvin that year. In 1555, he organized the settlement of Huguenots in Brazil, but they were driven out of Brazil by Portugal in 1567. De Coligny commanded Huguenot forces during the French Wars of Religion, and he was blamed for the Duke of Guise's assassination in 1563. In 1571, he returned to the court of King Charles IX of France, and he became one of the king's closest advisers. In 1572, he was invited to attend the marriage of King Henry of Navarre and Margaret of Valois in Paris, and he was one of the targets of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre on 24 August 1572.